Making long list for CBC prize 'extraordinary,' says P.E.I. poet

Deciding to compete for the 2018 CBC Poetry Prize wasn't difficult, says Jessi MacEachern, but deciding on which poem to send was.

"Part of the writing practice is also submitting that writing out into the world," said MacEachern.

MacEachern has been rewardedfor putting her writing out there by making the long list for the prize, one of 30 on that list out of thousands of submissions.

"To be chosen feels extraordinary," she said.

MacEachern is originally from Canavoy, P.E.I., and has almost completed her PhD in English at the Universit de Montreal. She has been writing for as long as she could hold a pencil, or so her mother tells her, but she became more serious about it as an undergraduate, discovering literary journals and sending off her first poems.

She currently has a collection of poems in the hands of publishers, hoping to sell her first book, but she had to choose just one to send to the CBC contest. She settled on the title poem, A Number of Stunning Attacks.

"For me it's the one that is closest to the voice that I want to embody in my poetry. It's one, as the title says A Number of Stunning Attacks it seems to have a bit of a punch," she said.

"I wanted to attract the attention of the readers, and so you want to pick something that feels exciting and fresh, but also feels true to your voice."

MacEachern hopes making the long list will attract the attention of the publishers who are currently considering her manuscript.

The short list for the prize will be announced Nov. 7, and the winner on Nov. 14.

More P.E.I. news

With files from Angela Walker